Landing gear for large aircraft heretofore have employed a telescoping shock-absorbing strut to which a multi-wheel truck is attached. In U.S. Published Application No. 2003/0029966, there is disclosed a landing gear structure having a pivot axis that is substantially horizontal and highly offset relative to the axis of the telescopic shock strut, which axis is substantially vertical in the gear-down position. A stated objective of such landing gear structure is to provide a connection structure suitable for transmitting effectively the twisting moments that are generated while the aircraft is turning during taxiing.
The landing gear comprises a leg constituted by the shock strut in which a telescopic shock-absorber rod slides along a sliding axis. The free end of the rod is hinged to a truck rocker beam carrying a wheel set having multiple axles. The shock strut is hinged to a structure of the aircraft and is capable of being pivoted by an associated connection structure about a substantially horizontal axis that is highly offset from the sliding axis of the telescopic rod which is vertical in the gear-down position.
The connection structure is essentially constituted by two panels connecting two axially separate points of the strut to a common axis structure extending along the pivot axis of the strut, in such a manner that in the gear-down position the panels are disposed one above the other. According to said published application, a top panel is connected to the strut via a high attachment which is rigid in twisting, and a bottom panel is connected to the strut via a low attachment which tolerates twisting, thereby allowing the strut to warp to some extent when the aircraft is turning while taxiing. Because of these attachments, the ability of the low attachment between the bottom panel and the strut to tolerate twisting enables the strut to be warped to some extent when the aircraft is turning while taxiing without that harming the stability of the leg, given that the structure of the high attachment is rigid in twisting.